Dictionary

ride high en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

* Possibly an allusion to one who rides on horseback in an upright, proud, commanding manner.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To enjoy good fortune; to be in a privileged situation; to be particularly happy or proud.
   • Sexual virility, coital potency rides high and arrogant over the commercial, artistic, social strivings of contemporary society[.] 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
   • True Religion . . . filed for bankruptcy protection this week. . . . A decade ago, the brand was riding high, commanding hundreds of dollars a pair for jeans. 2017 July 7, Abha Bhattarai, “$350 jeans are dead. $100 leggings killed them.”, in Washington Post, retrieved 08 Jan 2018:
   • Many people suspect that scientists, riding high in the modern world, are uninterested in man's spiritual qualities, which cannot be subjected to test tube and microscopic analysis. 1955 October 10, “Science: An Attribute of God”, in Time, retrieved 08 Jan 2018:
   • He that went away with his frock-skirts looped over his arm, comes back riding high; suddenly made one of the dignitaries of this world. 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 9”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, (please specify |book=I or IV, or the page):
   • Many analysts believe that Honda's enterprising spirit, deeply embedded in the company's culture, has been primarily responsible for its dazzling success. . . . But even as Honda rides high, the company faces challenges on several fronts. 1987 June 15, Susan Chira, “Honda is powered by risks”, in New York Times, retrieved 08 Jan 2018:
   • But Radnich, 65, and Krueger, 45, have enough in common that their partnership has worked. On a station that rides high with the fortunes of the Giants, the Warriors and the Niners, the two have fended off such competitors as KGMZ. 2015 December 30, Ben Fong-Torres, “KNBR’s Larry Krueger: You can go home again”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 08 Jan 2018:
2. (idiomatic, slang) To perform the coital alignment technique.

Forms

Relateds

tall in the saddle